i hope it hurts (enough to make you cry)
by Hidding-In-Shadows
Summary: Resbang15: A month after the massive Kishin virus outbreak, Soul Evans finds himself on a journey across the US to find his brother. On his way, he picks of a traveling, pigtailed spit fire and encounters life changing people and events. Through a newly apocalyptic world, Soul tries his best to hold onto the shred of humanity he has while trying to find the last part of his family.
1. a rusted truck and an old flannel

_a rusted truck and an old flannel_

* * *

He needed to stop to fill up for gas, but he passed a group of Kishins about half a mile back and _really_ didn't want to deal with those shitheads at the moment.

Soul Evans gripped at the steering wheel with white knuckles and stared at the gas meter, trying to will it to stop just a centimeter above the _E_. He had four filled gas containers in the bed of the truck, along with a few boxes of food and water, but the thought of having to fight off some flesh hungry, half-dead, smelly, decaying creatures while trying to get every single drop of gasoline into his recently obtained truck did not suit his fancy. Not one bit.

The 1990 Ford pick-up was a sort of washed out red and if you squinted hard enough the rust seemed to blend in with the paint. Before he had been driving some fancy sports car, thinking it would get him out of hoards of Kishins faster, but after realizing how fast it blew through gas, Soul ditched the sparkly thing for this rough-and-tough truck. He liked to call it Marigold. The name seemed to fit.

The CD in the car clicked as it went back to the beginning, the sad melody of a violin filtering through the air. Soul huffed, a few strains of his dirty blonde hair fluttering on his forehead. Tennessee was a hell of a way from Nevada, but he'd gotten this far already.

There was no going back, not after what he left behind.

It had been about a month since the outbreak. Some big shot company called Third Eye Insurance had released information about development for the cure for cancer. Asura Kishin, the CEO and head of the project, had released (or sold, nobody really knew for a fact how it got out) the code for the supposed cure. At first it seemed like it was working; hell, even Soul was hopeful for a moment when he saw that glimmer of happiness in his mother's eyes, but then everyone who was tested on got sicker, got worse. The shivers while sporting an incredibly high temperature, the pale, ghost like skin with veins pushing up to the skin, the foggy eyes that, no matter how bright the light was, didn't react or dilate. Then death. The death was what made people let out a sigh of relief in all honesty. Having to watch a loved one go through that immense amount of suffering, death seemed like the best option.

The first person who came back was a little girl named Angela who was dressed in a pale pink dress and was being lowered into the ground. She was about five feet under, the dirt ready to be shoveled back in, when she screamed and the world stopped. Her foster father and the priest were the only ones attending the funeral, and the first two to get bitten.

After that, it was like a wildfire. There were outbreaks of the thing, the _virus_ everywhere. It started in Maine. The moment the first two men were bitten, they tried to contain the area. But a week later the same thing happened in Florida, and then California was gone, and New Mexico, and Wyoming. Even Ohio was hit, and nobody even liked Ohio. Soul was surprised that it took so long for the outbreak to hit New York, but when it did, the whole city, no, the whole _state_ was flushed out in a matter of days.

His mother had been given the drug for leukemia that no doctor seemed able to slow down. When the Third Eye cure had been leaked, and the few clinical trials had a 60% success rate, it seemed as there was a chance for survival. His father had spent every penny, nickle, and dime to get Soul's mother into treatment with the new medicine. And like all the other cases, she had improved. Hell, at one point she could even sit at the piano and play with Soul like they use to do when he was little. And then, like all the other cases, she got worse. It wasn't until a week after the first outbreak of the living dead, now called Kishins after their creator, that his father finally accepted the inevitable outcome.

Soul let out a low growl as he pinched the bridge of his nose, a dull headache starting to come on. Whenever he thought about that shit his mind always seemed to go on high-drive and fuck up. He had a bottle of Tylenol and Avid, but those were "in case of emergency" pills, as Wes had put before.

Wes.

Marigold sputtered for a moment and Soul cursed silently to himself before pulling to the side. He probably had put a good five miles between him and the Kishins by now, so it wouldn't hurt to fuel up.

Soul pressed against the door, pushing it open and it screeched in protest before stepping onto the road. It had been about eight hours or so since the last time he got out of the pick-up, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to much to just walk around a bit.

Soul unscrewed the gas cap before grabbing one of the canisters from bed of the truck, hoping that the five gallons in it will get him to the next gas station, where ever it was. The sun was beginning to set but if he wanted to get a goodnights rest he'd have to find someplace that wasn't crawling with Kishins. He had taken a three hour rest before the eight hour trip, so he would be good for another few hours before his eyelids started to drop. At times like this he missed his brother being around. Before all the shit with the virus came up, they'd go on road trips and switch off so they could keep driving to get to their destination faster. With one drive, it seemed almost like it had taken Soul a year to get to Tennessee from New York, even though it had only been a month or so. In all honesty, it shouldn't have even taken him that long. There were just so many roads that were blocked off, or highways that ended with nothing but piled up cars, so Soul had to make his way around.

The canister dropped the last few drops it had of gasoline into Soul's truck just as the sky turned a blood orange. As least he had gotten to gas up before night fall, then he'd really be in trouble.

Soul tossed the empty can in the back and walked back to the front of his car. The area he was in didn't seem to be teeming with Kishins unlike other places he'd been to, but he didn't want to risk anything either.

Marigold creaked as Soul slammed the door closed and started back up. By now the sun had set and he needed to put his headlights on. Soul grumbled and messed with the gear shift. It was up by his steering wheel, and although he had been with Marigold for a week or two, he still was a little rusty (pun intended). He grunted when he finally kicked the thing into drive and then twisted one of the other levers by the wheel, turning the headlights on.

"Jesus fuck!" He yelled, jumping at the sight of a girl in front of his truck. She jumped too as if unaware someone was in the truck even though she had a shotgun propped on her shoulder with her finger caressing the trigger and his headlights are basically a big spotlight on her. The lights illuminated her blonde hair and the frizz it had from the humidity, making it look like a halo hovering on the top of her head. "Hey, put that fucking thing down!"

"Turn your goddamn high beams off then you idiot," she yells back, her voice muffled through the walls of the truck. The girl dropped the gun off her shoulder and slung it across her back. A pack hung on her opposite shoulder, two full water jug clipped to the strap with carabiners. Her blond hair pulled into a tight ponytail, but her eyebrows peak out from under her bangs as she draws them together in anger. Her lip turned up in dissatisfaction as Soul turned the lights to low beams.

He's a little more than surprised to see her, especially since she wasn't there only minutes ago when he was fueling up. (Okay, maybe he _was_ in the middle of a forest, but still.) She wasn't the first _person_ he'd seen since the outbreak, but she was the first one he'd seen in a week or so. Last time he saw someone was when he first got Marigold. It was a small group of girls, three of them, who told him that they'd heard of people traveling to Las Vegas for some new safe zone. (Thank god he was going that way anyways.)

She walked up to his driver side window and rolled her eyes before tapping on it with her knuckles. Soul rolled the window down, turning the music off as she leaned an arm onto the opening. She smelled like dirt and sweat and there were bruises littering her arm and a big scrape on her elbow. From this close up, he could make out a few freckles that sprinkled her nose. Her eyes were wide and green, the light from the roof of the car putting odd, angled shadows on her face. She puffed her cheeks out as she looked over her shoulder and down the road from where Soul had just came from.

"This isn't some drive-through window you know," Soul grunted, rolling his eyes as the girl's cheeks turned pink.

"Were you coming from Jackson?"

"No, Memphis."

"Did you see anyone?"

"Only Kishins."

"Shit," she groaned, running a hand over her face, " _shit_."

"What's wrong, Angel," he smirked, "forget someone back in Jackson? Hoping I would pick them up?"

"Don't call me that," she growled, glaring to him, "and it's nothing important, I'll just go back myself."

She pushed off of the door of his car and slugged the backpack further up her back, trudging back down the road where Soul came from. Soul huffed, rolling his window up and started back down the road. It was a long drive to his next destination and gassing up, plus stopping to deal with the random girl, had set him back. He just wanted to get out of here.

It wasn't unusual to leave someone like that. In the beggining Soul has encountered plenty of people who had simply asked for directions before going off. Sure, it was rare nowadays to see someone roaming on the street like that Angel chick, but he wasn't going to stop her from going off into the wasteland.

As Soul drove away, he grumbled to himself, turning up the radio to listen to the calming violin that played. He swallowed thickly, reminding himself that he'd find his brother eventually, or at least, find somebody who could tell him where Wes was. For the mean time, the violinist's concert CD would have to do.

After driving for about half a mile, Soul heard loud gun shots come from the distance. He rolled his eyes at the thought of someone shooting off a gun this late at night and this deep in a forest. Knowing from experience in the past, forests were teeming with Kishins, despite the high occupations of all the cities. It seemed as if the Kishins were drawn to the forest to find people with their pants around their ankles, trying to take a piss, and then-

"Shit," Soul yelled, slamming on his breaks as more shots rang in the air. He jerked the wheel of his car and slammed on the gas, ignoring how much he was going to hate himself later for using it for some type of rescue mission even though he promised himself he'd never rescue someone ever again after what happened in West Virginia.

It took him all of a minute to see the hoard in his headlights. The girl was standing in the middle of them, her shotgun slung across her back again. She clutched a knife, a machete, in her left hand, while the right one was pulling the trigger of some handgun.

Soul slammed on his gas the same time he slapped the horn, the sound making every Kishin look his way, their eyes glossy in the light of his headlights. The girl's eyes got big and she jumped out of the way and out of the hoard as they were distracted. Soul slammed into two, gritting his teeth at the sound of breaking bone, before slamming on his breaks as the bodies crunched under his wheels. Two down, six to go.

Soul jerked his wheel to the right and slammed on the gas again, the smell of burnt rubber filtering through the car as his tires squealed and he took off, slamming into another Kishin. He heard the vague sound of gunshots but was more preoccupied with the upper half torso of the Kishin crawling up his hood. Soul huffed out a curse and reached into the back seat of his truck, pulling one of his shotguns from the back. His hand fumbled against the door of the truck before pressing the button to roll the window down. He growled deeply as he leaned out of the window and aimed the gun towards the Kishin. It's jaw was halfway off and there were blood and brains coming out of a deep gash on it's head. The lower half of it's body was probably somewhere under his truck because one of the intestines was pulled taut over the hood of his truck.

"Mother fucker," he heard the girl yell from somewhere but he ignored her as he pulled the trigger, hitting the Kishin in the middle of it's head. The creature screeched before falling limp. Soul grinned grimly before leaning back in his car, tossing the gun to the side, and going into reverse. The body slid off of the hood of the car and Soul turned the wheel to face the girl.

His headlights illuminated her like spot lights did for an actor. She swung her machete with all her might, slicing one of the Kishins near her. The things arm flew off and it howled, taking another strained step towards her. A second one was coming up from behind, fingers long and pointed like talons. She whipped around and shoved the giant knife through it's guts before twisting it and tugging it back out. Blood splattered her clothing and he had no idea where her pack was because the back of her shirt was soaked through with blood.

Soul grabbed the shotgun again and flung the door open, cocking the gun before setting off a few rounds. The small group around her fell with each shot and the girl whipped her head around, glaring at the man. They stood there for a few moments just looking at one another before she wiped the machete off on her shirt and slid it into her boot. She turned from him and grabbed her backpack, which was carelessly laying on the side of the road.

"I had it under control," she growled, "you didn't need to come back."

"Yeah, because eight Kishins against one girl with a machete is what most people call a controlled situation."

"Hey, I _said_ I had it _under control_ , High-Beam Hero," she growled, putting her hand up defensively.

"High-Beam Hero," Soul smirked, cocking an eyebrow as he shifted the gun to his other hand, "what kind of insult, nickname-"

"It's a name for some idiot who drive at the dead of night, in Kishin infested woods, with his fucking _high beams_ on."

Soul's smirk fell and he scoffed, looking off to the side as he felt his cheeks flush. The girl turned and started walking off back towards Jackson and Soul didn't want to say anything but he knew he would regret letting someone walk into a deserted town and not find what they were looking for. (Hell, he's known that feeling plenty of times on his journey.)

"I meant it when I said there was no one," He sighed, watching her stop, "No one that matters."

"And I meant it when I said you didn't need to come back," she turned on her heel, giving him a chilling glare with those green eyes.

"Listen, I knew there was a hoard following me and I wanted to get back before-"

"Before I was another person on the list of 'dead people I could have helped out but didn't because I'm too scared'," She said, "I know what you mean, but I really need to-"

"Angel, I knew there was no one there for the moment I stepped in," he sighed, "no people, not animals, all of the stores were cleared out, and the only things roaming around were these shits."

Soul pressed the nose of his gun to the closest dead Kishin, curling his face up as the wet sound the body made. The girl's face curled up as well.

"I thought I said not too call me that."

"Call you what?"

"Angel."

"I didn't-"

"Okay, listen here Buckaroo," she growled, taking a step towards him and pointing an accusatory finger towards his chest, "I'm going to go to Jackson. I'm going to find who I need to find, and I'm going to go on with my life and you are going to go on with your life."

Soul rolled his eyes as he watched her turn back around. He swore under his breath and rubbed a hand over his face.

"I met someone named Tsugumi," The girl stopped suddenly and Soul took this as a sign to continue, "She was with two other girls. They … they were camped out in some supermarket and by the time I came back from a gas run … they were … they weren't themselves anymore. I had to-"

"Why didn't you tell me that in the first place," she snarled, turning around and glaring at him.

"I didn't think-"

"What that I wouldn't want to hear about the death of someone who I may or may not know?"

"I didn't thi-"

"You don't think a lot it seems," she grumbled, tightening her grip on her backpack strap. She huffed and walked towards him, her shoulder hitting his as she crossed to the other side of his truck. She yanked the door open, slid inside, and slammed it closed.

"I did not sign up for this," Soul grumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He went back to his car and threw the now empty shotgun in the back. The girl's backpack was there too, along with her machete. She had one leg pulled up on the seat and her head pressed against the glass.

"I'm going to Las Vegas," Soul said, pulling the gear into drive, "anywhere you're going specifically?"

"No," she huffed, closing her eyes. Soul just nodded, turned his high-beams off , and continued on the road.

"She was my cousin," she said after a while, "she was my cousin and I was trying to get to her."

She turned and examined what he had in the back before tugging out one of his old, worn out flannels. She sniffed it and decided it smelled clean enough to her despite the dirt stains and the little splatter of blood on the corner of the collar. The girl pressed her forehead up against the glass of the window, her hot breath fogging the window up as she took a few deep breaths. Soul watched her out of the corner of his eye as she shifted for a few moments before deciding she was comfortable enough.

"I'm sorry," he said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah," she said again, green eyes still focused intently on the passing forest, "Yeah, me too."


	2. a flat tire and a pee break

_a flat tire and a pee break_

* * *

Soul had learned a few things while on the road with Angel. (He still hadn't asked for her name; he figured she'd tell him when she was ready.) She was a deep sleeper when they were driving on the roads, but when they stopped to save some gas while in some small town, Soul would wake up in the morning to see her sitting the way he left her; one leg pulled up on the seat and her head tilted against the glass of the window, a shotgun in her lap.

Her favorite color was blue. A few days ago, when they had first entered Arizona, they had taken a pit stop at a Walmart. Most of the canned food was gone, and the McDonald's inside of it looked like a tornado had ripped through it twice, but they had still managed to find a few cans of beans and a giant, ten pound bag of rice that had been in the back of the store. As they had been leaving, she had gently tugged on his sleeve and nodded to the clothing department.

A few minutes later, they were both carrying new shirts, underwear, and pants. He had even picked up an extra pair of sneakers that had been carelessly thrown under a rack of button up shirts. When he met Angel back where they had left the rice and beans, she had three tank tops and two t-shirts, all in different hues of blue, tossed over her shoulder. She clutched two pairs of pants and one pair of jean shorts in the other hand. A few panties were stuffed into her back pocket and she had already tossed a sports bra on top of the basket that held the cans. He had raised an eyebrow at her, but she understood what he was trying to say.

"I like blue," she huffed, picking up the basket, "Now come on, we don't have a lot of time till sunset."

She loved to read. She practically collected books and it kinda annoyed him, but when he confronted her about the books he kept finding, stuffed in all the little cracks and corners of Marigold, she had simply given him a look and then opened the glove compartment to reveal his extensive collection of CDs.

They were about halfway through Arizona when they saw the shop.

"We have to go in," Angel said simply as the pulled off to the side of the road.

"No, no we are not going in."

"We went into that silly music store you-"

"Angel, you have at least fifteen books hidden in my truck and we still need room for-"

"Exactly, we'll have more room!"

"I'm not giving up Marigold."

Angel rolled her eyes and simply grabbed the shotgun she kept at her feet ever since they had been attacked by some Kishins a while back while sleeping in the truck. Before Soul could tell her to get back in, she had slammed the door and was already trekking across the three empty lanes towards the Ford dealership.

"Fucking hell," Soul grumbled, grabbing his own gun before getting out and jogging to reach her.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Angel said, bumping her shoulder against his as he scowled, "When's the last time you got a new car? Marigold back there looks like she's about to fall apart."

"Don't talk about my car like that," Soul hissed, glaring at her. She simply rolled her eyes and continued on, skimming over all the trucks as they got closer.

Angel had instantly gone over to the SUV's, walking around them and poking them with the tip of her shotgun as if they were going to come alive and attack her. Soul stood off to the side in the parking lot, leaning against the closest car. He watched as she walked around, inspecting different cars, checking their tires, getting inside the ones that were open and sitting in them. By the time she was on her sixth car, Soul was sweating and he was ninety-nine percent sure that the last thing he had to eat was a can of beans the afternoon before.

"We don't have time for this," He called out to her as she jumped out of the truck she had been in a few moments ago.

"Okay, let's just go inside real fast," she said as she slung the shotgun across her back, "maybe they have one of those fancy water jug things and we can get a few of the extra's they store in the back."

Inside the building was even hotter (probably because it had giant windows everywhere) and Soul had stripped off is shirt and the simple white tank top he always wore. Angel had taken her own shirt off, clad in a plain black sports bra, as she rubbed her forehead with the tank top she had. Inside were a few displays, a couple of cars, and the water machine.

"I'll go look for the jugs," she had said, stuffing the tank through one of her belt loops, "you bring your sorry excuse of a truck around."

Soul had rolled his eyes at her but turned to go get his car. Before he could step outside though, Angel had yelled out for him.

"High Beam, come check this out!"

(She had continued to call him that because he had yet to give her his name either. It's best not to get attached to people.)

When he found her, she was standing there with her hands on her hips, a smug grin plastered across her lips. She waved behind her and Soul looked to see a big, black truck parked on the show floor. A Ford I-150, as the tag on it's side window displayed.

Soul let out a low whistle and walked over to the truck, running his hand over the hood. Angel hummed approvingly and Soul rolled his eyes once more at the girl before asking if she could hunt down keys. They were transferred into the other truck and on the road within the hour.

"Why are you going to Las Vegas?"

"What?"

Angel was sitting at the edge of the bed of his new truck, unnamed at the moment, eating out of a can of corn as Soul replaced the tire of the truck. They had (literally) ran into a few Kishins a little ways back and somehow his back tire got blown out. Luckily Angel had talked him into taking a spare tire or two from the Ford shop when they were there a few days back.

"Why are you going to Las Vegas?" She asked again, licking her spoon clean before tilting the can to her lips to drink the rest of the juice in it.

"I'm trying to find someone," he huffed, tightening the new tire, "He left about a month or so before the outbreak. Last card I got from him was from Las Vegas so …,"

Angel hummed in acknowledgement before tossing the can out to the side of the road and putting the spoon back into their designated 'dishes' bag, which was just a string backpack with a few pieces of mismatched silverware, five plates, and three cups tossed inside. She wiggled her way down, too short for her feet to reach the ground from where she sat. She dusted off the backs of her jeans as she watched Soul finish up. Angel picked up the hubcap, spinning it in her hands before handing it to him to pop back on.

"What about you," Soul asked as he stood up, leaning against the side of the truck as he whipped his hands on his shirt, "are you really not heading in any direction?"

"Nope," she turned on her heel, going to her side of the car, "let's get moving though, we should be able to get at least a third of the way through Oklahoma if we start now."

They had been on the road together for about a week and a half now, maybe two. It was hard to tell when the days seemed to blur together and the only thing he had to know the time was a broken watch. He wore it on his right wrist, and the hands were stopped on three thirty seven, and Angel hadn't asked him about it at all even though she knew it was broken too. What was the point of wearing a broken watch?

They drove through the entire day, only speaking when voicing their opinion on the song that was playing on a CD they had heard about ten times over. Angel has rolled the window down, her hand surfing the wind, and it almost seemed normal, as if they really were friends who were just going on a road trip. But reality would come back to him whenever they passed a crashed car, or a Kishin shuffling on the side of the road. They were close to their driving limit for the day, the moon high in the sky to signal it was midnight.

"We should stop," Angel said as she watched him yawn for the third time, "You're tired, I'm tired, and we can get the rest of the way through Oklahoma tomorrow, it's not that big of a deal."

Soul just hummed before turning the lights off and pulling off onto the side of the road. Angel had already reclined her seat, tugging the flannel she had adopted from him around her shoulders. Her shotgun lay between the seats and she curled up on the side, resting her cheek on her arm. Soul double checked the doors, making sure they were locked, and checked to make sure all the windows were rolled up. He then settled down as well, turning to looked at the younger girl.

He never asked her name, never asked her age. Every passing day he realized how much he knew about her, despite knowing none of the simple facts that defined her. Soul began to wonder if, maybe, he should tell her his name tomorrow, when they wake up. He was tired of being called "High-Beam", and he wanted to call her by her actual name, not some silly nickname he created within the first two seconds of seeing her. But it was late, and she was already asleep, and he could feel his own eyes starting to drop. Tomorrow.

He woke up, first, to the sound of the sound of a car door opening and closing. The light inside flashed and he winced before looking over to the passenger seat as it twitched off. Angel was walking out to the side of the forest, shotgun on her back an old tank top clutched in her fist. She was probably off to go pee or something. He'd been woken up several times before in the middle of the night to her telling him to keep watch. They hadn't seen any Kishins for a while so she must have assumed it was safe enough to go without telling him. Soul wasn't worried, he would had done the same thing, but he still tried his best to stay awake.

He woke up, second, to the sound of frantic gunshots in the forest. It took him a moment to register what was going on, but after realizing Angel still wasn't back from going into the forest, he grabbed his own gun and jumped out of the truck, racing into the forest.

"Angel!" He bellowed, following the sound of the shot gun. He heard her yell out and followed the noise, eyes adjusting to the night. He saw her, standing there with her shotgun up on her shoulder and her eyes searching the trees in the distance.

"Shut the fuck up," she hissed to him, fingers tightening on the gun, "there's a giant fucking swarm out there."

"What the hell-"

Angel shot off another few rounds and the area illuminated around them, revealing at least thirty Kishins. Soul felt his heart drop and he reached out, grabbing Angel's arm as she went to take another shot. She growled at him and he just pulled her along as he ran through the trees and tried to get back to the truck. he could hear the Kishins stumbling after them, groaning and hissing.

"We don't have time for that," he yelled to Angel, "and you'll waste your bullets pulling that shit."

"High-Beam they were everywhere, do you expect me-"

The two came to a stop at the edge of the trees, breathing heavily. The Kishins behind them were coming in close, but the truck was always swarmed by at least ten more. The two looked at each other, and simply nodded, pulling their guns up.

Soul walked towards the Kishins, the gruesome creatures turning towards him. Some of them had pointed teeth within gaping mouths, others had white hair patched on their head with bulging, red eyes. Their nails had grown into sharp claws and their bodies so skinny it seemed as if they would break in two with a simple punch. It must be a Pack.

"It's a Pack," Soul called out, "careful, that means-"

A loud groan came from behind him and Soul took a chance, a stupid chance, and glanced over to see a large Kishin, double int height, drool dripping from it's wide mouth, jaw dislocated. It's claws scraped the ground, back hunched over. It's eyes looked as if they were going to fall out of it's skull, red and bloodshot, tears leaking from the corners. White hair came up in scratchy patches, it's arms thin and pasty, blue veins pulsing through the skin.

"Angel, we've got a problem," Soul hissed, looking towards the girl who was currently shooting one of the creatures in the head.

"I'm a little busy High-Beam."

"We've got a problem," He yelled, aiming his gun and taking two of the Kishins down. Behind him he could hear the ones in the forest begin to trickle out. He hoped that they weren't part of the same Pack because otherwise he and Angel would be in some deep shit.

He and Angel easily took out the ten around the truck but the thirty coming from the woods, and the Leader coming from the side of the street were a different story. Leaders were the most difficult ones to take out. In the beginning of it all, the Leaders were the ones who had the weakest immune systems to the virus would total wipe them out, create a whole the system. The brain was killed off, the virus taking control of the entire body, altering it grotesquely. It was normal for the body to take on a few changes, but Leaders always had the most significant. The virus would take the weak and make them the strongest.

After becoming a Leader, they would go out and infect others with their strand of the virus, infecting them with the same thing, giving them the same, yet toned down symptoms. Which is what a Pack was. A group of Kishins all holding the same strand of virus being lead around by the mother of all virus carriers.

"I'm out," Angel yelled, running to the car. Soul went to the driver's side and grabbed the handle, yanking it fiercely.

"Locked."

"You locked the keys in the car!"

"It's not like I meant to! I was trying to save your ass!"

"Which I don't understand," Angel growled, going for the knife in her boot, "because you seem more like the 'slam and scram' kind of guys."

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?"

"It means shut up and let me handle this."

Soul watched through the window as Angel slammed the knife tip into the small crack of the door and window, near the lock, and fiddled around. The Kishins were getting closer, and as they spilled out of the forest, it became more and more evident that it was a huge Pack, one of the largest he's ever seen.

"Angel, they're getting close," Soul hissed, jiggling the door handle.

"I'm almost there," she growled, sweat beading on her brow.

"We don't have time for-"

"Shut up."

"Angel-"

"I said-"

Soul cursed under his breath before kneeling down and rolling under the truck. he reached out, clasping tightly onto Angel's ankle and tugged, making her fall flat on her back. She yelped out in pain, the knife flying out of her hand, and Soul dragged her under, pulling her close to his chest to they were as far to the middle of the truck as possible.

"Don't make a sound," he hissed in her ear.

He could feel her shaking as he held her close, and could smell the blood and rot on the collar of the flannel she wore from the blood that splattered her over the weeks of killing Kishins. The soft shuffled of the creatures as they walked and dragged by was nothing compared to the throbbing beat of his heat. Soul felt sweat cling to his head, to his back. Angel's hands were fisting his shirt tightly, pulling at the fabric so hard that her knuckles were white. The stray hairs from her pigtails threatened to tickle his nose, but he held his breath, terrified that even a simple noise would cause the hoard to charge the truck and topple it over.

It felt as if time was slowing down, as if every second was an hour. The sound of the Leader tromping by signalled they there were near the end of the march. The Leader always brought up the end of the Pack in order to keep an eye on the rest, if that was even possible. Soul was just thankful that they were reaching the end. The feel of Angel's heart beating against his calmed him a little. He could feel had fast it was pumping, and it was only a second slower than his own rapid heartbeat. They lay there, clutching onto one another, hoping the hoard would move far enough for them to actually get into the truck.

"I think we're clear," Soul said after a little while, the groaning and shuffling far in the distance ahead of them. Angel simply nodded and then untangled herself from him. Before Soul could roll out though, she rolled herself on top of him, reaching over as her fingers grazed the underneath of the car. She pulled out a key, giving a shaking sigh as she handed them to him.

"That's smart," Soul grunted, palming the spare key.

"We're lucky there auto people knew what they were doing," she said.

Soul unlocked the car and slid into the seat, finally letting his breath out. Angel tossed her shotgun into the back, knife clutched into her hand. The two of them looked to one another before looking back towards the road. Soul started the truck up, locked the doors, and began driving.

"Maka," Angel said, voice hoarse, "Maka Albarn."

"Soul Evans."


	3. lost soliders

_lost soldiers_

* * *

"We should get a dog," Maka said, hand outside of the window as the made the last leg through Oklahoma.

Even since the 'Pack Attack', as she liked to call them, two days ago, Maka had been more open and relaxed. They had decided to stop for a full day at some abandoned motel, thanks to her, for a well deserved 'apocalyptic va-cay'. Soul honestly didn't object because the thought of an actual bed sounded relaxing as hell. But, that resulted in them being a full day behind schedule, but also gain a full day of rest, meaning the could drive the day and night if they really wanted to. But that also meant that Maka would throw out more ridiculous ideas.

"First it was a boat, then it was horses, and now a dog?" Soul chuckled, raising a single blonde brow.

"Hear me out," Maka shifted in her seat, back pressed against the door of the car. She pulled one leg up on the seat, the other dangling to the floor, "dogs are mans best friend, and we can train it to be a Kishin killing-fighting machine. Plus, a warm cuddle buddy when we need it. And it's a proven fact that dogs make everything better."

"Really now?"

"Yes, proven fact."

"And where exactly are we going to get this so called dog?"

"A pet store, duh."

"Maka, for real?"

The young blonde girl just laughed, shaking her head. She threaded her fingers through her hair, letting it down for once. The wind tossed her hair around, her fingers dancing on the air as they drove. She had a map out earlier, but decided to toss it in the back to roll her window down instead. They were driving blind, but it didn't really matter. They were on the right road, and they would be out of Oklahoma and in Texas in no time.

"How far have you been in the States?"

"Hmm?" Soul hummed, looking to her after breaking his train of thought.

"Well, I was born in Georgia, and then moved to Kentucky. The farthest I've been into the States is … Michigan." Maka took her hand from outside the window and began to roll it up, hair knotted from the wind and cheeks pink.

"California," Soul tapped his fingers on the wheel to the soft sound of the CD song playing, "why do you ask?"

"I don't know it's just, all this going on, with the infection and the Kishins, we're bound to move all over the place. I mean, once we reach Texas that'll be the farthest place I've been in the States from Georgia. Where are you even from?"

"New York."

"That explains."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Soul cocked an eyebrow at her and Maka just shrugged as she went to combing her fingers through her tangled hair.

"You've got this little accent. But it only happens when you're angry, like with the Pack Attack. You were yelling but you had this little … thing going on with your voice, I don't know, it was just a New York accent, so now I know why."

"Well your voice isn't hunky-dorry either," Soul snorted and Maka glared at him, "What, you're from the South, you've got a little bit of that southern twange to your voice."

"I do not," she hissed, cheeks getting pink with embarrassment.

"Yeah, you do,"

"No, stop it Soul, I don't wanna,"

"See, there it is!"

"SOUL!"

Soul slammed on the breaks, the two jerking forward. In front of them was an RV, tilted to the side as it parked on the side of the road. The most alarming aspect, though, was the man that stood in front of their truck, rifle raised and pointed at the windshield. A woman sat at the top of the RV, a sniper in her hands. Next to the RV were two younger adults, around Soul's age. The boy, with shockingly blue hair, was kneeling with a tire wrench in hand next to a flat tire, and the girl was fiddling with a necklace with a long sword strapped to her waist.

"Well, I guess we should get out now," Soul huffed, glancing to Maka who sent him a chilling glare.

They opened the car doors, jumping out of their truck and raising their arms in the air. Whomever these people were, the seemed serious. Serious enough to have a sniper and rifle pointed on both of them even though Kishins infected the forests around them.

"Who are you," the man with the rifle said. He had washed out army pants on and a tank top, a bloody bandana wrapped around the thick muscle of his arm. Another bandana was wrapped around his head, catching sweat. "And where are you going."

"I'm Soul," he nodded towards his partner, "and that's Maka. We're on our way to Las Vegas."

"Goin' to that Safe Zone I recon," the blue haired boy grunted with a thick, southern accent as he continued with fixing the tire. He seemed pretty calm despite the constant threat of Kishins and strangers and whatever else was out there.

"Yeah, I know someone over there," Soul said, glancing between the group, "we told you our names, how about you?"

"Sid. That pretty lady up there is Nygus, and that's my son, Black Star, and his girl, Tsubaki," the man said, lowering his gun.

"More like I'm her boy," Black Star snorted, finally getting the tire lose, "you haven't seen savage till' ya've seen Tsubaki here with her katana an' a hoard of them Kishins."

"Your name is Black Star?" Maka said, making Soul roll his eyes. "What kind of name-"

"I should be saying the same thing to ya'," Black Star said, looking over his shoulder to finally see the two strangers, "what kinda name is Mika?"

"It's Maka," she growled, letting her hands fall and crossing them over her chest, "and do you even have a spare tire?"

"We did," Tsubaki finally spoke up, her voice calm, yet powerful. "But we lost is back in Kentucky."

"Well, we've got one."

"Maka," Soul warned.

"What? They've got about the same size it looks, and we can pick up more next time we see a dealership."

"We don't even know these people."

"Sure, that's Sid, and Black Star, and Nygus, and-,"

"Don't be a smart ass."

The two bickered for another moment before Sid cleared his throat. He looked between the two with a raised eyebrow before nodding towards the RV.

"We've got some real food, I was about to cook some burgers. Care to join us in exchange for your tire?"

Soul and Maka glanced at each other before simultaneously saying, "Deal."

"We're on our way to Houston," Tsubaki explained after they ate. The sun was starting to go down, and the tire was fixed, but they all decided to take a stop for the night. Soul had wanted to go, but when Maka gave him her big eyed look, much like the ones she gave him whenever she wanted to go into an abandoned bookstore, or shopping mall, he decided that one night wouldn't kill them.

"We heard that there was some talk 'bout another safe zone bein' made there," Black Star said, leaning back in the lawn chair they'd set out, "so we 'sided to check it on out before we head on over to Vegas."

"That's the biggest zone," Tsubaki fiddled with her necklace again, a silver chain with a little ring on it, "we heard it was started by some kid and his dad. There's been a lot of talk about Las Vegas, but we only heard about Houston a few days ago. We thought it wouldn't hurt to check it out, you know, in case Vegas falls through."

"Makes sense," Soul nodded, leaning back into his own chair. They had a small lantern in the middle of their circle so he could see all of their faces. Sid had gone off to the roof of the RV to take a night watch, Nygus cradling a beer and her sniper across from him.

"Where are ya'll from," Black Star asked, tossing his arm around Tsubaki, "My family's from Alabama, and Tsubaki was visiting from Japan, but we were in Kentucky when all hell went loose."

"Georgia originally," Maka said, a book in her lap. She sat right next to the lantern to read, mostly because Soul kept bugging her that if she read without light she was going to hurt her eyes and he wasn't going to stop for glasses. "But I moved to Kentucky and spent 'bout ten years there."

"Makes sense," Black Star said.

"What? Why?"

"You've got an accent."

Soul chuckled and Maka glared at him, closing her book. She chucked it towards the older man and he yelped as it hit his shin. She looked pretty satisfied with herself before Soul grabbed the book and held on to it, taking away her only entertainment.

"Why were all of you up in Kentucky if you're from Alabama?" Maka asked, sending one mroe glare towards Soul.

"I was going to be deployed from there," Black Star said, "so they came with to say goodbye."

"Iraq?"

"Yep, second tour."

"But then the virus got out, just a few days before he was suppose to leave, and they cut off all the air travel out of state," Tsubaki said, lacing her fingers through his over her shoulder, "So I guess I've gotta thank that CEO or whatever because he let my boy stay home."

"So how did you two met?" Maka asked, fingers tracing meaningless patterns on the road.

"I was visiting family in Japan, distant relatives who wanted me to find my roots or somethin'," Black Star said, smirking at Tsubaki, "and I was in a market, trying to buy some cheesy gift for Nygus and I couldn't speak a lick of Japanese and this tall beauty comes up and instantly translates for me. Knew she'd be my goddess from the minute I laid my eyes on her."

"I didn't even get my souvenir," Nygus grunted, sending a playful wink to her son, "but I got myself a pretty sweet daughter-in-law."

"You two are married?" Maka asked, eyeing their hands.

"Not officially," Tsubaki blushed, looking down at her necklace, "he proposed a week before finding out he was going to get deployed again. We thought we would wait until he came back, but … you know ...,"

"I'm sorry," Maka said, now picking at a torn thread on the knee of her jeans, "I mean, congratulations, but also sorry that you two have to deal with all this crap."

"As long as I'm with her, I'm as happy as can be," Black Star flashed a goofy grin to his fiance and she smiled back, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"So, are you a soldier too, Nygus?" Soul asked, flinching when Maka slapped his knee for being so up front. "I just thought, with these kind of guns and with how high your guard is … it just made sense."

"Yeah, Sid and I have both done our time for the US of A military," Nygus said and the rolled up her pant leg, revealing a prosthetic leg, "I officially got out when this baby blew off of me, and Sid followed me a few years later after a bad head injury."

"Respect," Maka mumbled and Nygus laughed as Soul gave her a gentle kick in the back, repaying her for the slap.

"I think it's about time we end with the campfire stories and head to bed," Sid hollered down from the roof, "I think I see a few Kishins in the distance but nothing to be worried about."

Soul and Maka nodded and wished their goodnights to the others as they shuffled to their truck. Maka sighed as she folded the seat back, tucking herself into a ball, flannel tossed over her like a blanket. She was small enough for it to practically cover her fully. Soul pulled his seat back a little too, leaning back with his hands folded on his stomach.

"I like them," Maka said, and Soul hummed in acknowledgement, "do you think we should follow them, to Houston. What if Vegas falls through, we need a backup plan, right?"

"Right now," he grumbled, "we need to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

"Alright, night Soul."

"Night, Maka."


	4. back up plan

_back up plan_

* * *

"I'm just saying," Maka said through her granola bar, "that, if given the chance, I would totally raid a Target."

"Pfft," Soul glanced to her, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the middle console of his car. Maka was reading a book, one of the few Tsubaki had given her. "And why is that?"

"Because," Maka said, turning the page, "Target has everything you need for an apocalypse."

"Where did you get that, the internet?"

"Maybe."

"Maka-,"

"Okay but, really," she snapped the book close, turning to him, "sure, Walmart has guns, but Target has, like one place of windows and you can cover them really easily with all the damn furniture they have. Plus, they have, like, a Subway or something inside, right? Plus food, and toiletries, and if you have a baby there is a shit ton of baby stuff."

"You really thought of this, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," she snorted, "the world went to hell and I needed to find a way to survive for a week."

"You lived in a Target for a week?"

"Details."

Soul barked out a laugh, shaking his head. Maka just puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat. The two had been following the RV in front of them since the first moment of daybreak. They were hoping to make it to the supposed 'safe spot' by night.

"What do you think of them?" Maka asked.

"Them who?"

"Black Star, Tsubaki, ya know, them."

Soul shrugged, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Maka puckered her lips next to him. They sat in silence. It happened sometimes, a little tension when one or the other avoids questions. Silence would lace the car, make the air between them stuffy and uncomfortable. It's happened mostly with Maka asking him about his past, about his life before the entire world went to shit.

"If you want to know," Maka said once, a week into their journey together, "My father and mother are divorced. He was in Las Vegas for a work trip. I thought he might be there still too."

"We're not going into this," Soul had grunted to her. They had just gotten out of a superstore and Soul had frozen in place when he saw a post card. It was the same one that his brother had sent him on a trip of some sort. Wes thought they were fun, post cards, and whenever he went out he'd send one to Soul. Only, the postcards stopped after his family shunned him. Soul still loved his brother, the two had always been close and Soul was pretty sure he knew even before his brother did. So what if the elder Evans brother seemed to swing for the other team. So what if he didn't marry the rich, pretty daughter of a family friend, or of a famous business CEO. Soul just wanted him to be happy, but it seemed as if their parents had a different future planned out and Wes just got in the way.

"I'm just saying," Maka said, "you don't have to be this secretive. It's obvious that we're staying with each other for a little while longer at least."

"Not if I can help it," Soul snorted and she rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, and tension filled the car.

"You know," Present Maka's voice snapped Soul back into reality. She was leaning forward, hands inside the glove box, digging around, "we should have picked up some more CD's at that Walmart a whiles ago. I'm tired of this violin shit."

"I like classical," Soul grumbled, "and jazz."

"Ah, I knew you had that rich vib," She hummed, leaning back and slamming the door of the glove box closed, "what was it? Daddy a CEO of a company? Mommy some well off sergon? Oh, maybe movie stars! I hear it's major trendy for, like, superstars to live in NY now-a-days. Or, well, before these Kishin's started fucking everything up."

"What's your problem?" Soul hissed, glaring at her, "you're getting all judgy and bitchy all of a sudden."

"Oh I'm sorry, did I offend you," She growled back, green eyes slitted, "I didn't know you actually had emotions, you know, because you're always so tucked away."

"I don't want to share personal information with you," Soul said, "I don't even know anything about you."

"My favorite color is blue. My parents were divorced. My mom died from the virus and I haven't heard from my dad in a year, so it's safe to assume he's gone too. My cousin is dead, so I don't have any family here that I can look out for. I love books. I like using a gun, but the recoil hurts my hands. Knives are fine, but I still haven't found my, you know, weapon of choice, if you wanna call it that, for this apocalyptic scenario. I've never had a pet, but I want a dog. A big dog. I-,"

"Alright, I get it," Soul cut her off angrily, "I know a lot about you, but you know nothing about me. And we're keeping it that way, Angel, so you can shut up now."

"You know," Maka hissed, unbuckling her belt and moving to the back seat where their clothes were scattered, "if you weren't such an asshole all the time, you'd be cute."

Okay, he was an asshole. He'd admit that. He was snappy and snarky and he'd made a few jabs at her tiny tits and fat ankles, but he didn't not like Maka. She had a fire to her he hadn't seen in anyone since the Kishin's came around. She was sharp, witty, smart, and her humor was shitty, but it still made him chuckle.

Going off on her and using that little nickname he gave her when they first met probably wasn't the smartest idea, but he hated getting personal, especially during this time. It was bad enough that they were running away from zombie-monster hybrids, having to deal with drama and getting into stupid arguments doesn't add to the fun.

"We're here," Maka said from the driver's seat. Soul propped himself up from the back, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. It had gotten dark long ago, but to get there as fast as they could, the switched drivers (much to his discomfort with someone driving his car, even if it was stolen) and kept going.

"Damn," Soul muttered, squinting his eyes. The mall was huge. Sure, only the lights from the cars illuminated it, but he wasn't could see the silhouette of the entire thing, and it was huge.

"It's called the Galleria," Maka said, slowing as she pulled next to the RV, "My dad brought me here when I was younger when my mom and I followed him on a business trip."

"Never been this far in the south," Soul snorted, "my parents didn't see the point."

"Do you need any other reason than giant mall and endless summer?" Maka joked, opening the door roughly and hopping out. Soul followed her, popping his back once he got out of the truck. Maka had already strapped her bag on, gun slung across her back and knife pushed to the hilt in her boot.

"Hey, there might be people here," Soul said, knocking his shoulder with hers as he walks around to the bed of the truck.

"Doesn't mean I can't be prepared," Maka pouted, giving him a narrowed look, "besides, it looked pretty empty to me."

"That's probably how they want it to look," Black Star walked over to them, own rifle around his back, "but it's safest to bring somethin' just in case, ya know."

"I'm not walking in empty handed," Soul snorted, smirking to the blue haired guy, "I'm just saying, it's probably not smart to go into a safety compound with guns a blazin', you know?"

"Sure thing," Black Star chuckled, and the three of them joined the others at the van. Tsubaki had her katana sheathed on her side, a few other weapons on her person for easy access. Sid and Nygus carried their usual arsenal.

Sid simply nodded the them all and they started towards the mall. It was boarded up, which wasn't that big of a surprise. In the beginning of the hell they were in, people went to the biggest places they could to survive and block off the virus. Of course, living in such a big place had it's faults. There were issues with guarding to make sure no Kishin's got in, food shortages, murders even. Soul remembers how it was. He joined one of those big groups in the very beginning before he decided it was best to be alone.

"Well," Black Star huffed, nudging Maka, "you got a crowbar in that bag."

"I'm a person, not a pack mule," she grunted, but she flipped her bag over her shoulder. Her hand wrapped around the silver crowbar that was sticking out from the top.

Soul remembered when she first picked it up, during a little skirmish with a few Kishins. Her knife was lodged in the skull of one, her gun left in the car because it was suppose to be a quick pee break. Soul was busy fending off two others and she had no weapon. Thank god they stopped at one of those fifty year old looking gas station/automobile repair shops. The crowbar was just perched next to the gas pump and she gripped it so tight while she smashed the Kishin's head in that her hand was bruised for a good three days.

"I knew this would come in handy someday," Soul joked with her. She rolled her eyes and handed the crowbar to Black Star who nodded gratefully to her.

It took Black Star almost no time to make an opening wide enough for all of them to fit through, even if he did have to shatter the glass on the door and got a few splinters in the long run.

"We're staying together," Sid said, taking the crowbar from Black Star much to his son's dismay and Maka's grabby hands for it. "It's obvious that there is no one in this area, so let's look around."

"Maybe the food court," Maka said as they started walking, "that's where I'd set up camp."

"Maybe," Tsubaki said, "but by now the food would be gone, and there may be rats and such there. Even during an apocalypse people don't want to put up with vermine."

"We'll check just in case," Sid said, "but let's keep an ear and eye out for anything or anyone."

They walked slowly and surely through the mall. Their footsteps echoed on the once polished floors that were now covered in papers, napkins, and other unidentifiable items. Soul kept glancing to Maka, watching her shoulders tense at the sound of every rustled paper, every piece of broken glass that crackles under their shoes. At one point she even jumped and got her knife out and ready in seconds when a rat just skittered across the floor.

"Ah, guys," Black Star called out from ahead of the group, "you might want to come check this out."

he had walked ahead a little way to clear the way and see if there was anywhere they could set up camp. The group jogged forward to where he stood, in front of a giant clothing store, Forever 21. The walls were boarded up, there were flyers for some big sale scattered across the floor. Maka leaned down and picked one up, humming at the 50% off all items. Soul rolled his eyes and move towards the door where Black Star was standing. Sid was leaning against the glass, hand cupped around his eyes.

"Well shit," the ex-army man sighed.

"What? All the good clothes gone?" Soul snorted, taking his spot against the door. There was a small hole within the wood that blocked the doors. Soul leaned against it, breath fanning over the glass and fogging it. She squinted, eyes adjusting to the darkness within the store. On the ground lay countless bodies, dark figures that were motionless and nameless. Among them were a few standing, swaying gently. Kishins.

"Well shit," Soul mimiced.

"So," Black Star, sighed, looking to the others, "anyone got a back up plan?"

"I do," a rough voice came from behind them and the whole group turned around. A girl and three guys, two of them big enough to snap Soul in half. The third was a little shorter, but looked almost ten times more dangerous with his assault rifle pointed at them and a chainsaw slung across his back. "Put your weapons down away and follow us."


	5. shit happens

_shit happens_

* * *

Soul was honestly caught off guard at first, but now he was just annoyed. The girl, some pale skinny number with long, platinum hair, lead them while the three guys flanked them from the sides and behind. The bigger guy has a nasty scar covering his face, some kind of X slash that looked like it must have hurt like a bitch, and the other one had a douchebag haircut and a lazy eye. The third one, Chainsaw Maniac, as Soul rightly nicknamed him, was in the back. He had taken Tsubaki's katana, Sid and Nygus's guns, and Maka's knife (even though Soul knew she had at least two more stashed on the inside of her coat).

"We heard there was a safe place here," Sid said as they walked, "and so we came to check it out before Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas was a fall out," Scar Face growled, cradling his own gun, "some little kid with his daddy that let only certain people in. They attacked us when we went."

"No joke," Lazy Eye snorted, "not to mention the two crazy bitches that do whatever the rich boy and daddy say. Nearly killed me, those two."

"Would you pipe down," the girl hissed to them, her voice high and irritated, "we don't want to scare any of the home owners."

"You mean the Kishins?" Maka said, glaring to Chainsaw Maniac who was walking a little too close to him.

"Yeah, they've been here since the beginning," the girl said.

"There was a safe area," Chainsaw said with a smirk, "but one of the survivors got infected before returning from shift. Didn't tell anymore, thought he was one of the immune and-,"

"Did you say one of the immune?" Maka said, looking to him with wide eyes, "that's impossible, no one is immune to this."

"Speak for yourself missy," Chainsaw snorted, "I saw it with my own two eyes. Some little girl got bit right in front of my eyes and the whole mark healed up and everything. No fever, no illness. She was fine."

"That's crazy," Soul snorted.

"Crazier than zombies coming and ripping people apart? Only months ago did we watch shit like this on the TV and in the movie theatre's for fun."

The entire group shut up after that and continued along. They walked steadily for a few more minutes before stopping in front of a gated store. Some kinda sports store Soul didn't recognize. The girl fished a silver key from her pocket and kneeled down, playing with the lock that held the gate closed. She grunted when she stood back up, waving to the door. Scar Face and Lazy Eye walked forward and pushed the gate up, everyone walking inside. There were no front windows to the store, so there was no reason to board it up. Inside, the other group had set up camp. There were sleeping bags laid out, in the middle of them a small lantern. Cans were stacked up to the side, open and unopened. Jugs of water were scattered around.

"Welcome to our home," Chainsaw chuckled, putting a hand on Maka's shoulder. Soul glared at the man as he took a step closer to Maka, but the little blonde simple shrugged him away and walked farther into the shop.

"Giriko," Chainsaw said, "and that's Erika, Free, and Ragnarok."

"And you thought I had a weird name," Black Star snorted, elbowing Maka who simply glared at him.

"So you thought you'd introduce yourself after you take our weapons and guide us around like animal?" Soul said, raising a brow.

"Like you would do anything different," Lazy Eye, Free, said, tossing his gun to the side and flopping down on one of the sleeping bags.

"I mean, when we met these two we practically were breaking up a fight," Black Star jabbed a thumb to Maka and Soul.

"We were not," they both hissed, glaring to the boy.

"Ah, little trouble in paradise?" Giriko chuckled, sitting down on his own bag.

"Not even," Maka snorted, rolling her eyes as she tossed her bag to the ground. "So are you going to hold us captive here or are we going to actually work something out."

Giriko smirked, leaning forward towards her. "I like how this one thinks."

The gun felt weird in his hands, probably because it wasn't his usual gun. Giriko had given it to him because, somehow, that jackass had become the 'leader' of their make-shift group. And their goal was to sweep the entire mall and make it an official safe place. Even though it seemed as if every other boarded up store had ten plus Kishins in it.

"I need to take a piss," Ragnarok grunted, tossing his gun to Black Star who caught it effortlessly before bumbling off to the corner.

Giriko also seemed to take it into his own hands to set up their groups. Ragnarok, Black Star, Soul, and Erika in one group, Maka, Giriko, Tsubaki, and Sid in the other, and Nygus and Free watching the base. Group One went left, Group Two went right.

"Anyone else think it's ridiculous that we're flushing this place out," Black Star snorted, inspecting Ragnarok's gun, "we've been at it for a good week and there's been barely any progress. We need to find where they're coming in from and block that off."

"Well what do you think we're doing," Ragnarok snorted, grabbing the gun from him roughly, "shopping for the girlfriends?"

"Fuck off, man," Soul sighed, "we've been getting nowhere, Black Star's right. We cleared out that Hot Topic a few stores down at least three times."

"Giriko's in charge, so we'll follow what he says." Ragnarok snarled, getting face-to-face with Soul. "If you've got a problem, you can take it up with him and his chainsaw."

"Don't be a prick, Ragnarok," Erika finally spoke up, popping out a hip, "just because you feel like you're stuck babysitting doesn't mean you can treat us like children. We know Giriko is in charge. And do you really think he keeps that chainsaw around for fun?" Erika smirked and looked to Soul, sending him a wink, "Personally, I think he's compensating for something."

"It's getting late," Ragnarok growled, glaring to the girl, "we're heading back now."

Soul sat on the sleeping bag he got from the back of the sports store. Maka's was next to his, but she was currently sitting with Erika, braiding the girls hair. Soul hated how comfortable everyone seemed to be. In reality, there were certain glances, certain motions between the four people they had met simply a week ago. Giriko and Free exchanging looks, Ragnarok and Erika smirking to one another, Giriko sitting there, chainsaw in lap as he eyed everyone. It didn't feel right.

"I use to babysit my cousin when she was younger and in town," Maka said as she created an intricate braid in Erika's hair, "she loved when I did this."

"It's hard nowadays to get a pretty hairdo, with Kishin's running around and everything." Erika was reading a book in her lap, turning the pages silently. her remark got a chuckle out of all the girls and an eye roll from the boys.

"Did you guys get to that one entrance," Giriko asked, scratching his spoon on the bottom of a can of soup.

"No, because these two thought it was a good idea to bicker," Ragnarok growled, gesturing to Soul and Black Star.

"No, we just thought it was stupid to flush everything out everyday all week," Soul said, glaring to Ragnarok, "we're not getting any progress."

"And do you have a problem," Giriko asked, tossing the can to the side and leaning forward.

"Hell yeah I do," Soul growled, narrowing his eyes threateningly, "we're killing Kishins, sure, but they're still coming in. If we actually hunt for the holes in out barrier, then maybe we'd actually get somewhere."

"That's what you guys were going to do today," Giriko snarled, standing up and towering over Soul, "that was your mission, did you not follow through?"

"No, because Scar Face over here thought it would be a good idea to take a piss break and then turn us around when we asked a few questions."

"Actually," Erika said, touching the braid Maka had finished, "he turned us around after I said you had a small dick, but we don't need details."

A large crash outside of the shop door made everyone jump and turn with weapons in hand. The tin door rattled and Giriko glared to the others.

"Now we've got Kishin's on us, what the hell," Giriko hissed, getting nose-to-nose with Soul, "you're going out there and getting rid of them yourself."

"Hey, don't be an asshole," Maka growled, pushing her way between the two men, "that's sending him on a suicide mission."

"Scared you're gonna lose your little boyfriend?" Giriko smirked, reaching to twist one of her pigtails around his finger, "don't worry, baby, there's plenty of man here for you."

"Don't fucking touch me," Maka snarled, slapping his hand out of the way. Giriko snarled and went to slap her, but Soul pushed Maka to the side instead, Giriko's hand landing on his cheek instead. Soul tackled the man to the ground, the two tussling and throwing punches. Voices raised and Soul was pulled back by Sid. Black Star had his gun up, Tsubaki her katana as the two stood in front of Soul. Maka had grabbed her knife, holding it tight by her side in one hand as the other rested on Soul's biceps. Giriko stood up, spitting blood at them.

"You really wanna do this?" Giriko snarled, turning around and wrestling with the door of the store.

"Don't you fucking dare," Black Star snarled, "it's nine against ninety."

"Well, good luck to everyone then," Giriko let out a twisted laugh before throwing the door up and releasing the Kishins.

Kishin's flooded the small store and bullets went flying. Ragnarok had lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Maka and lifting her up as Erika went at Black Star, gun smoking in her hand. Giriko grabbed his chainsaw, revving it up and sliced through a few Kishins before turning to Soul who jumped out of the way.

"Fast on your toes, pretty boy?" Giriko cackled, swinging again and catching a Kishin in the side.

"You're fucking insane," Soul yelled, shooting a Kishin in the head that stood directly behind Giriko, "you want to fight us while Kishin's swarm? Do you have a death wish?"

"I died a long time ago," Giriko was hysterical, and lifted the side of his shirt to reveal a nasty, infected gash across his stomach, "just thought I'd take a few with me."

"Soul!"

Soul turned and watched as Ragnarok plowed through the Kishin's with Maka on his shoulder. The younger woman's knife was lying on the floor and she pounded ineffectively on the big guy's back. Soul cursed under his breath and yelled when someone grabbed his collar. Nygus was dragging him out, gun aimed at Giriko. Her eyes flicked down and before Giriko could swing his chainsaw, she lowered her gun and shot him in the knee.

"You bitch!" He howled, falling to the ground, chainsaw sputtering.

"Come on," Sid yelled, clearing the front of the store. Tsubaki ran through, slicing any Kishin in the way as Black Star covered her back, shooting whichever one's thought they wanted to start walking again. Free followed them with Erika close behind, both of them ignoring their screaming boss.

"You're going to regret this," Giriko yelled as the Kishin's narrowed in on him, "you're all going to fucking regret this."

Soul tore himself out of Nygus's grip, gun aimed at Giriko. As the first Kishin leaned down to take a bite of the man, Soul breathed heavily, took aim and shot. The trigger on the store door that kept the garage-like door up sparked as bullets dug into it's metal and, with a screech, the door fell down, slamming closed and covering the screams of the dying man.


	6. stitch me up, doc

_stitch me up, doc_

* * *

"Put me down you fucking-," Maka started, but Ragnarok tossed her to the ground, the girl's body slamming on the concrete floor. She yelped out in pain, Soul rushing to her side.

"What the hell," Soul hissed, glaring up at the man.

"Bitch said to put her down, so I did."

"Oh, I'm gonna-,"

"Not right now, boys," Sid panted, pointing down the main hall of the mall, "we have bigger problems."

Down at the end of the hall, a Pack Kishin's shuffled along. They were tall, lanky, and skinny. Bone's protruded from them and their faces were simply skin. The eyelids had grown over the eyes, shutting them, and their noises were slits. Wide, gaping moths covered half their face, crooked, yellowed fangs filling their mouths. Among them were a few taller, stronger ones. Leaders.

"No, we need to finish this first," Ragnarok growled, taking a step towards Soul, "you killed our leader, man, and now we're gonna kill yours."

"You're not doing shit."

Screams echoed in the mall as the Pack got the scent of the uninfected and Ragnarok yowled, pulling a knife from his belt and going to Soul. He dodged the attack, barely missing the knife to his side, and landed a punch on the guys ribs. It wasn't going to do much, he was built like a fucking ox.

Meanwhile, Maka was trying to stand up the best she could with Tsubaki's help. Free came up behind them, though, and wrapped his hand in Tsubaki's hair, pulling her. Before Tsubaki could react, or Black Star could jump in, Maka pulled one of her stashed knives from her coat pocket and twisted around, slicing off the hair Free was holding onto. Tsubaki, without hesitation, knocked Free's legs out from under him and grabbed the knife from Maka who was already getting up to start running from the Kishin's that were making a gain.

"We've got to go," Sid yelled as he went to shot at the Kishins only to discover he was out of bullets, "now. Move, move, move!"

Soul turned, ready to run, but was stopped short when Ragnarok dropped the knife from one hand to his other and slashed right across his chest. The cut was deep, pain searing through Soul's chest as he dropped to his knees. Blood rushed out, covering the front of his shit in a matter of seconds. Someone screamed his name and his head hit the ground. He watched with blurring vision as Maka ran towards him. The sound of the screaming Kishins seemed to fade as his ears began to rung and he felt his eyes flutter closed.

"We need to get him out of here!" Maka's voice sounded as if it was in a different room, but he felt her cool hands on his face.

"We have to go, Maka, we can't save him, the Kishins-," Black Star was cut off as some more gunshots went off. Warm blood splattered onto Soul and he groaned as Maka prodded his wound.

"We can't … he's … I just …,"

"Fucking, I- this asshole better save my ass one day."

The bed of the truck was rough under Soul's back, despite the blankets they had laid down. Soul groaned and screamed as someone pressed against his wounds.

"You kid's go, find help, we'll follow," Nygus's voice was far away, underwater.

"We're not leaving you here with no bullets." Black Star sounded even farther away.

"Do what your mother tells you," Sid growled, "we'll see you when we see you."

"Dad, you're arm …"

"I said, we'll see you when we see you, even if that's not on this planet anymore."

"We have to go," Tsuabki was talking now, "Black Star …,"

"Fuck … fine! Let's go."

Maka didn't know how, but she saw it. It was dark out, there wasn't a light on, but she saw the outline of a house, and there was a beat up sign on the fence, and they had to take a chance. The had been driving for what seemed like forever and they somehow ended up in the countryside. Soul's bleeding had stopped, but so had his rapid breathing. His breath was shallow, weak, and he was paler than anyone she's ever seen, and she's kicked a few guys a little too hard in the balls a few times.

"There! Try there!" She shouted. Black Star was driving, but he had the windows rolled down so he could hear the girls in the back.

"No one's there, it looks abandoned."

"Trust me," she growled, "just go."

They pull into a long, dirt driveway. The land was large, farm land. The home was a two story home, painted a soft white with pale blue shutters, the perfect home for a country-style family. Maka jumped out before Black Star even stopped, gun in hand, one of the few they had stashed in the back in case of emergencies.

Maka walked up the porch and slammed her fist against the rickety screen door. She kept slamming, Black Star even yelling at her that it was no use.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to herself.

The door shook and Maka stepped back, cursing at herself. She screamed, turning around and slamming past Black Star. No one was home, no one was in the area in general. There was a goddamn apocalypse going on, there was no one within an 100 mile radius. Soul was screwed.

"What the hell," a groggy voice came from the porch and Maka turned around to see a man standing there, a thin scar from stitchwork across his face. A white robe was pulled around him and he was squinting, trying to make out who was there. Maka clicked the safety off and walked forward, aiming at the man's head.

"You're a doctor, right?" she asked through gritted teeth, "Don't tell me you just thought you'd live in a doctor's house when the world went to shit."

"Yes, yes, I'm a doctor."

"Black Star, grab him," Maka shouted over her shoulder. She looked to the man and her eyes flicked over his shoulder to a woman who stood at the door in a nightgown, an eye patch on. "I've got a friend, he's hurt, help him."

"I didn't even know-,"

"He was attacked, chest sliced open. Can you fix him up?"

"I can try, but-,"

"Then I suggest you try hard."

"Here sweetie," a soft voice came from Maka's right and she looked up to see Marie, the doctor's wife, standing there was a steaming cup, "I made you some tea."

"Oh, thank you," Maka said, taking it from her. "how much longer do you think it will be?"

"I'm not sure," Marie sighed, sitting down next to the girl on the pastel, floral sofa, "Stein is a good man, a good doctor, but your friend was … was very hurt. I'm sure he's doing the best he can."

Maka nodded, taking a sip of the tea. Black Star and Tsubaki were upstair resting in one of the rooms. After they slammed into the home, Marie had been more than nice to them. They had running water and everyone had taken a shower, given clean clothes, and full stomachs. They grew their own food, had a farm, so the couple was pretty efficient. They hadn't had a run in with any Kishin's since the very beginning. It was a perfect life in an imperfect world.

Stein and Soul had gone into a separate room, Stein's office. It was morning now, somewhere around eight in the morning. Maka was tired but she was too worried to sleep, too anxious to close her eyes for a few minutes.

Stein's office door suddenly opened and Maka jumped up, tea clutched in her hands. The doctor was wiping his hands on his lab coat, a mask pulled over his neck. His hair was tousled and he looked tired as well but he sent Maka a sheepish smile and just nodded behind him. She rushed past him and into the other room, stopping when she saw Soul laying on a cot, chest sewn up.

"Oh, Soul," she whispered, walking over and kneeling at his bedside. The machines beeped next to him, telling her he was alive and stable. She put her cup down and reached out, clasping her hands around his. They were warm, which must have been a good sign.

"You're lucky you got here when you did," Stein said from the door, green eyes warm, "I stopped the bleeding, there wasn't much internal, I set a rib, and sewed him up. He's going to be out for a few days because of blood loss, but he should make a full recovery."

Maka let out a deep sigh, resting her head on the edge of the cot. She didn't realize how much he actually meant to her until that moment, the moment his body hit the ground and there was just blood everywhere.

"You should get some rest too," Stein said, "we can all talk in the morning."

"Thank you," Maka said, looking to him, "I know I-I know I came in here all crazy, but I just … I can't lose someone else."

"I understand," Stein smiled gently, "get some rest. You don't want to be passed out from exhaustion and miss when he gets up."

When he woke up, his head was pounding. His head was pounding, there was an IV in his arm, and his chest was really sore. He lifted his head, eyes narrowed as he took in his surroundings. His room looked like it belonged in the senior version of CountryLiving.

"You're awake."

Soul looked over to see Maka standing there. Her face was clean and her hair was damp, pulled back in a simple braid. Her cheeks were pink as she walked in, dressed in a pale, pink sundress. Soul licked his lips and heard the machine next to him beep faster. Maka laughed as she walked over and Soul groaned, mostly from embarrassment.

"Your heart pick up a little bit when I walk in, huh?" She smirked.

"Sorry, I haven't seen a girl in a dress in a good three months."

"Alright, Casanova."

Soul smirked and Maka smiled back, reaching out and grabbing his hand. She laced their fingers together and she reached over, ruffling his long hair. She made a face.

"You need a haircut," she ran her fingers through his hair, Soul humming happily and closing his eyes. She continued to play with his hair, easing the man into a relaxed state. "You know, I saved your life."

"Really now?"

"Actually, Black Star's the one that carried you, but yeah."

Soul laughed and then flinched, glancing down to his chest to see it bandaged. Maka looked over too and let his hand go, her other one leaving his hair. She reached out, running her fingers over the bandage lightly.

"Stein fixed you up," Maka said, voice low, "he stitched you up. He's a doctor. I kinda … I kinda made him do it at gunpoint."

"That's my Angel," he smirked, "for a second there I thought I lost that tough, pig-tailed girl I almost ran over a month ago."

Maka laughed, moving and sitting on the edge of the cot. Soul reached out this time, taking her hand. They sat there silently, taking in one another.

"My brother, the last time I heard from him, he was in Las Vegas," Soul said, looking at their hands, "that's why I wanted to get there. My family kinda shunned him out when he told them he was gay. He use to send me postcards, and the last one I got was from Las Vegas."

"Soul …,"

"Ah, I'm glad to see you're awake," Stein came into the room, smiling widely, "Maka here has been quite strung up over you. You've been out for three days."

"Three days," Soul groaned, head falling back into his pillow, "God, I've pushed us back so far, we could be on our way already. Black Star, Tsubaki, Nygus, and Sid are on their way at least, right?"

"Black Star and Tsubaki are here," Maka said, looking down to the floor, "Nygus and Sid … Sid was bit, during the mall fight, and Nygus stayed with him. They had the RV but … Black Star said it was out of gas when they got there. I don't think- sorry."

Soul set his jaw, closing his eyes as he took a heavy breath. Maka squeezed his hand before getting up. She excused herself, leaving Stein and Soul alone for a moment. Soul sighed deeply, opening his eyes and looking to Stein who was looking at one of the machine's next to him. His brow was drawn and he looked confused.

"I'm Soul, by the way," Soul said, "you know, the guy who you saved."

"Stein, the doctor who saved you," Stein muttered, pressing some buttons and then turning to Soul, "how are you feeling? Feverish? Ill? Any itches or rashes? Blisters? Abnormalities?"

"Honestly, I feel fine, other then a little discomfort in my chest, but I bet that's from the injury. My eyes are kinda sensitive, but other then that I feel just fine."

"I just thought I saw … it's probably nothing, but the machine just read off something weird for your blood type. I'm sure it's nothing, this stuff hasn't been used in a little while."

Soul nodded and Stein took the bandage off, tossing it to the garbage. He poked and prodded Soul's chest gently, checking the stitches. Once he was satisfied, he hummed and turned. The whole wall to the right of Soul was covered in cabinets. Stein opened one, rustled around, and pulled out a new syringe.

"I'm just going to take a blood sample, double check to make sure nothing's wrong."

Soul nodded, and closed his eyes at the doctor drew blood. Stein muttered something to himself and Soul opened his eyes, looking to see what was wrong.

Black.

His blood was black.


	7. arise, zombie

arise, zombie

* * *

The next time he wakes up, the smell of dirt is all around him and he can't really breath. Soul gasps awake, coughs as dirt and sand fill his mouth, and claws at whatever is above him. His nails scrape loose dirt and he digs as fast as he can. Oxygen isn't really obtainable underground, and he needed some desperately. Sunlight breaks through and shines on his face and Soul pushed himself up, chest heaving as he sits, legs still buried. He takes heavy breath, spits out the dirt in his mouth, and looks around. The farmhouse stands pretty far from him, but he can see people moving inside still. What the hell? Last time he was awake he was laying in bed.

Last time he was awake, he was in that cot, and he was coughing up a lung as Maka rubbed his back and Stein shook his head. He was sick, infected apparently, but he was fighting as hard as he could.

"Giriko said something about immunity," Maka had said, looking to Stein with concerned eyes, "maybe Soul's immune, and he's just fighting off the worst of it right now."

"The chances of him being immune are one in a million," Stein sighed, "Maka, I'm sorry, but,-"

"No, you promised you'd help him," Maka growled, standing up, "so save him."

"Maka-,"

"Maka, please," Soul groaned, falling back into bed, "don't argue just … just sit here, okay? I don't want to be alone when I …,"

"You're not going to," Maka had said, running her hand over his sweaty forehead and tears pricked her own eyes, "you're going to be just fine, Soul."

And then his eyes closed, and now he's waking up in a grave.

Soul pulls himself all the way out of his grave and grunts, his limbs aching and body sore. He looked at his hands, his arms and legs. He looked pretty normal, if anything, his shoulders felt a little heavier and his hair was shorter. Soul shook his hair out, dirt flying, and made his way towards the home. He was in jeans, nice dark ones, and some buttoned up shirt that must have been white, but it now brown and stained with dirt. At least he had his own shoes on.

Soul walked up the porch, sighing as he knocked on the door. If this was some kind of natural healing process, burying someone alive so when they wake up they get the sick scared out of them …

The door swung open and Soul went wide eye at the sight of Maka standing there, shotgun raised and finger over the trigger. Her green eyes were steel and emotionless for a moment before her brows raised slowly, mouth falling open.

"Soul?"

"Yeah, that's, ah, my name."

"I thought … you … you,-"

"Maka, get back," a voice growled and Maka was pushed back, Black Star appearing with his own gun raised. Soul took a step back. Black Star looked a little more threatening than Maka did, and his safety was definitely off.

"Guys, what the hell," Soul hissed, putting his hands up, "I wake up from some weird natural healing process and you point a gun at me?"

"What are you talking about?" Maka hissed, desperation in her eyes.

"Why else would I wake up underground. I fell asleep and I wake up to dirt in my lungs and my friends threatening me with guns. By the way, I'd appreciate if you'd put that thing down, Star."

"You died Soul," Maka said, tears welling in her eyes, "you died two weeks ago."

"I what?"

"You died, bro," Black Star said, "and now you're back as one of them. A Kishin."

"I'm not a Kishin! I'm no different, I swear, if anything I'm a little hungry," Soul looked between the both of them, guns still raised, "I'm serious, I feel fine. You're the one's pulling this stupid prank on me."

"He really doesn't know," Maka muttered, lowering her gun, "Black Star, put the gun down."

"Maka, are you not seeing what-,"

"Put it down."

Black Star grumbled but lowered his gun, stepping to the side so Soul could come in. Soul nodded to them and opened the screen door, walking in. He felt bad with dirt dropping off his clothes every time he moved, but there was really no way to avoid it.

"Go to the bathroom," Maka nodded down the hall, "On the right."

"What? I don't need to-,"

"Just do it."

Soul grumbled but walked down the hall and opened the door. The mirror was right there and Soul stopped short, mouth falling open. His features were sharper, dangerous. His hair was frost white, even his once dark, thick brows were now frosty. Dark, chocolate eyes had turned to blood red, threatening and unusual. His fingers touched his lips and he opened his mouth to see pointy, sharp teeth replace the straight, white teeth his parents had spent thousands on with braces.

"No," Soul said, "no, no, no. This is not happening, I'm not a Kishin."

"The evidence is all over you, no offence," Black Star snorted from the door.

"Where's Stein, he can run some tests, right? He can check me on out, right?"

"Soul, they're out right now and we don't … you're a Kishin." Maka said, joining Black Star. Her hands were wringing each other, eyes looking everywhere but his face.

"I'm not though," he said, "look, Kishin's attack basically anything living, right? I didn't attack you, I came up, confused and asked for help. I'm not what you think I am, I'm fine."

"I don't know," Black Star said, "you look pretty Kishin to me, why shouldn't I shot you?"

"Because I'm your friend!"

"Sid was my father and I had to leave him because he was a Kishin. I think I can shot you."

"Okay, that's enough," Maka said, moving in between the two boys, "here's what we'll do. We're going to lock Soul in Steins office."

"He can pick a lock," Black Star said, "we all learned when things went to shit. We need to tie him up."

"Wow, I didn't know you thought of me that way, Star," Soul snarled back, baring fangs.

"Both of you calm down," Maka hissed, pushing on their chests, "Black Star, go find something to tie him with."

"I'm not leaving you alone,-"

"Just go."

Black Star grumbled but backed up and turned, disappearing down the hall. Maka sighed, hanging her head for a moment before looking to Soul. He eyes scanned his face and his body, trying to take in his new appearance. She reached out, fingers touching the collar of his shirt, dipping under to skim his collarbone. He felt a shift run through him at the feel of her skin against his.

"I thought you were dead," she said, stepping closer as her hands wrapped around the back of his neck, "I, ah, cut it when we were getting you ready. I didn't think,-"

"It's fine," Soul muttered, looking at her with lidded eyes as her hand curled up into his shorter hair. She scratched her blunt nails against his scalp and he let out a noise of content, leaning forward to press his head to her shoulder. His arms found their way around her waist and she returned the hug.

"I need to take you to Stein's office," she said against his shoulder, "when he comes back, and everything is tested, then we can talk."

"Okay."

"In all honesty," Stein sighed, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his noise, "the only reasonable explanation is antibodies. But, they didn't get rid of the virus, exactly, but lessened it's effects."

"So I am a Kishin?" Soul asked, sitting at the edge of the cot. Tsubaki and Black Star stood off to the side, Maka standing next to Soul with a hand on his shoulder.

"Sort of," Stein said, "look, I've never seen anything like this, especially with the virus. There is still so much we don't know about it, and this is just one more unknown factor to it all. I'm going to assume you can transmit it like all the other Kishins; bodily fluids."

"How could he have gotten it though," Maka asked, grip tightening on his shoulder, "he wasn't bit or scratched by one, how could he have gotten the virus?"

"You said you got into a fight at the mall, correct?" Stein asked, leaning back against the cabinents. "Well, you were attacked by people and Kishins. When Soul's chest got slashed, and with the Kishins all around, it's a good chance that, while someone was killing a Kishin, some of it's blood got onto Soul and thus into his wound."

"Damn," Black Star said, "so he's okay though? He hasn't attacked anyone, I mean, he has to be good."

"I think it's safe to assume there's nothing abnormal, other than the obvious." Stein motioned to Soul's entire being and Soul nodded, hands tightening on the edge of the bed.

"Then we'll leave tomorrow," Maka said, "We've been stalling for too long, it's about time we continue one to Las Vegas."

"It should be safe to go," Stein said, "you all should get some rest now then, it's getting late and you want an early start."

"Of course," Tsubaki said, nudging Black Star out of the room, Stein following them. Maka stood there, hand on Soul's shoulder as he sat slumped over.

"I guess I'm one of them now, huh?" Soul grunted.

"No, you're something else," Maka sighed, walking in front of him. She kneeled down, hands resting on his knees. He looked at her with his red eyes and she smirked. "They kinda have that glow that cat eyes get, you know? That reflection."

"Ugh, even worse," he groaned, rubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands, "first this scar, then fucking dying, and now this shit."

"Hey, I think the eyes are cool. The teeth are pretty cool too."

"Yes, because everyone thinks a guy with glowing red eyes, white hair, and fangs is cool."

Maka smiled to him and started playing with a loose thread in his jeans. "Look, Soul, when you died, I was devastated," he went to cut her off, but she pinched his knee, making him yelp and glare at her, "let me finish. We'd been together for a month, and I know we didn't want anything to happen, but I cared, well I care about you. And when you died, I didn't know what to do. I shut off all my emotions, I was a total bitch to Black Star and Tsubaki. What I'm saying is, when the virus broke out, I basically lost my mother and father, the only two people who I really cared about, but then you showed up. I can't lose you too."

"Maka …,"

"I'm going to bed," she sighed, heaving herself up, "you should get some rest too. We're leaving at the first inch of sunlight."

She move towards the door, Soul watching her.

"Hey Maka?" he called out and she turned, blinking at him. "My mom had cancer, she was one of the first to get that new medicine tested on her, one of the first infected. And my dad, he couldn't take it when she was gone, so she offed herself. My brother was all I had, but then I met you. So, the feeling is mutual, Angel."

Maka looked at him with her wide green eyes, but a smile slowly made it's way to her lips. She gave a soft chuckle and shook her head, hand finding the doorknob.

"Get some sleep, Soul."

"You too, Maka."


	8. Las Vegas

_Las Vegas_

* * *

"I swear this is the right road," Black Star said from the passenger side, a map in hand.

"Well, we're at a dead end and I'm basically out of gas," Soul grumbled, parking the car and turning it off. Black Star made a noise of frustration as he tossed the map onto the dashboard. Maka rolled her eyes in the back as Tsubaki reached over and patted her fiancé's shoulder for comfort.

They climbed out of the truck, Soul tossing the keys into the bed as they gathered as much as they could. Finding the safe zone might take them awhile, they needed to be prepared. Maka grabbed a water jug, carabinering it to her bag. Black Star did so as well so they had at least two gallons of water. Tsubaki was storing as much of the weapons she could on her, short, black hair swaying around her chin.

"I say we retrace our steps back to that crooked stop sign and go the other way," Maka said, adjusting her bag before testing the weight of her gun in her hands.

"Sound's fine by me," Soul followed the shorter blonde as she lead the way back. Maka was the best with directions, really, but Black Star had insisted on taking the passenger side.

It took them a little longer then thought to get to Las Vegas, but they also had to stop to fix a flat, and fill up three times. The fact that they made it a good way into Las Vegas was a surprise.

"There's supposed to be a skull as a symbol for where the safe zone is," Maka said, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket, "Stein drew it for me."

They looked at the skull, a kind of cartoon look with two black dots for eyes, one for a nose, and three long, pointed teeth. Maka slipped the paper back in as they reached the stop sign and sighed, looking up at the sun, which was half way down in the sky. Soul trudged next to her, their arms brushing every once in awhile.

"I can't wait until we make it there," Maka said, "hopefully I can finally get to shower everyday, and sleep for as long as I'd like. And eat food other than canned beans and corn and soup."

Soul chuckled, agreeing with her. Though, he was nervous about getting there. With his half-Kishin system and the features, he was afraid they would reject him, flat out turn him around and kick him back into this messed up world. Not like he'd be alone, he knew Maka would follow him in a heartbeat, Black Star and Tsubaki too probably. But he didn't want to sacrifice their happiness for him and his infected ass.

"Maybe they have some scientists," Maka said, "you know, that can try and figure out more stuff about you. I mean, I know Stein tried, but if this safe zone has a place, they're bound to have better tech that can run more tests, right?"

"We'll see, Maka," Soul said, "right now, let's just focus on getting there."

They walked the streets for hours, until the sun disappeared and the moon was the only thing that illuminated their surroundings. They didn't want to stop in fear of getting trapped by Kishin's, but it didn't help anyways because they were currently running for their lives from a Pack. They were running through alley's jumping fences, but it seemed as if no matter where they went, the Pack was there.

"We can't lose them," Maka panted as they ran around yet another building, the Kishin's laughing behind them, "and we are going to run into a dead end sooner or later."

"Just shut up and run," Black Star wheezed, turning down a narrow alley only to discover a dead in, "shit, look, you jinxed us."

The four turned to see five Kishin's at the end of the alley, fat and bulbous, pores seeping with pus covering their bodies. The had high pitched laughs, teeth sharp and ready for tearing flesh. The four backed slowly, trying to get away from the Kishin's even though they knew there was no way out of this.

"Why did we take the guns again if we knew there weren't any bullets left?" Black Star hissed, glaring to Soul.

"In case the safe zone had some, but now it seems stupid," Soul panted, sweating from nerves and running practically a ten mile marathon.

"Well, if I'm going by a Kishin, I'm going down fighting," Maka said, pulling her knife from her boot and twisting it in her hand.

"No one's going down tonight," a sigh came from above them and the four looked up to see two girls standing on the roof of the building next to them. The both held twin pistols and the taller one nodded before going off. The two girls emptied their clips on the Kishin's who laughed and screeched as they were shot. "You all alright down there?"

The two girls scaled down the building was precision that Soul had only seen in parkour videos online. They looked like sister, both blonde with big blue eyes, only one was taller with a more angular face and the other was short with a chubby, baby-like face.

"Name's are Liz and Patti. Thompson sisters. Kid sent us out here to pick your sorry asses up," the tall one said, putting her pistols into the gun holsters she had on her hips, "but not before I know what he is, he looked like a Kishin."

"He's normal," Maka said, moving in front of Soul, "he was infected but he fought it off."

"Well he's not immune," the other, Patti giggled, "he looks like one of 'em."

"Soul's fine," Black Star snorted, "and if you want to leave him, then you're leaving all of us."

"Soul, huh," Liz said, running her tongue over her teeth as she looked him up and down, "We'll take him, obviously because he's not going for anyone's throat," she waved a hand, "come on, you have all been running around long enough. It's about time you got to Death City."

Death City, apparently, turned out to be the name of the safe zone. Mostly because it was in a deserted area of the city, but it was built big and strong, tall fences made of wood, barbed wire, and wiring. It was amazing how they missed it, but at the same time, the four of them had been running around for the past hour or two.

"Kilik," Liz called out when they reached the gate, "open up A2! Four survivors here."

"I don't know, that one looks kinda Kishiny."

"It's Wes's brother, Soul," Liz called back and Soul felt himself freeze.

"Wes is here? You know my brother?" he asked the girl, putting a hand on her shoulder to turn her around. "Where is he? Is he okay? Did anything happen to him? How did he get here?"

"Geez, you ask a lot of questions," Liz snorted, shaking him off, "you can ask him yourself in a moment. The gate's gonna open."

They turned to the gate, which was a large, double door made of barbed wire laced through fencing. They swung open slowly as a loud beep echoed in the area. It was high pitched and Soul flinched, pressing his hands to his ears.

"Sorry, sissy forgot to mention that," Patti pouted, glaring to her sister, "the noise is at a frequency for Kishins. Ms. Medusa figured it out, so we can't hear it, but they can."

"I'll have to thank her for the constant headaches then," Soul grumbled, the group shuffling in.

The zone as everything and nothing like he imagined. There were home set up, more like shacks, that people were walking in and out of. Clothing hung on lines and people watched as the newcomers walked around. In the center was a larger building, a lab by the looks of it, but it was floor level and looked almost like a dentist's office. Liz waved them along, nodding to other people within the compound. Soul was in awe, watching as people walked together laughing, kids ran around screaming tag, and there were even a few cats and dogs wandering.

"Kid and Mort really cleaned this place up," Liz hummed, "it use to be a shit zone, but then they cleared the area, got this fence up, and we started making some shacks for living. Of course, we have larger buildings for sleeping, where you will all stay. The shacks are just for practice."

They all nodded, following Liz inside of the dentist office which turned out to be filled with lab equipment. Two women were inside, standing over the counter with a tray in front of them. The blond one was playing with the end of her hair, eyes narrowed in intense concentration while the dark haired one was jotting stuff down on a clipboard in her hand.

"Medusa, Azura, I think I have someone you want to met," Liz said, nodding to the group. The two women looked up, their eyes focusing in on Soul who swallowed thickly.

"My, what do we have here," the darker haired woman, Azura said, adjusting her glasses, "a human-Kishin hybrid?"

"No, just a human," Maka hissed to her.

"Feisty," Azura hummed, "you must be close."

"This is Soul, Wes's brother."

"Oh, Wes," Medusa hummed, "he's a sweet boy."

"Where is he?" Soul asked, "I haven't seen him in,-"

"In a long time, yeah, we know," Liz sighed, waving her hand back and forth, "He's on a scouting mission right now and won't be back until morning. In the meantime, you will stay here with Medusa and Azura while I show your friends their rooms."

"Wait, you're not leaving him here for some sick experiments," Maka growled, "he's a human, not a test subject."

"Maka, I think we both know I'm far from human," he snorted and realized how serious she was when she glared to him. Soul sighed and rested his hand on her shoulder, "I'm fine, really. I want to know what's going on as much as you. You guys head back, relax. I'll be brought there in a little."

Maka gave him an unsteady look but finally gave in with a sigh. She reached up, placing her hand over his and giving it a squeeze before leaving and following Liz. Soul sighed and turned to the scientist who looked at him with such intense curiosity it made Stein's prodding questions seem like normal conversation.

"So," Medusa started, pulling a pen from her lab coat and clicking it, "why don't you drop your pants for us."

The sun was just about to break over the horizon when Soul was brought to his room. His bicep was throbbing from where he got samples of blood taken, and his head was pounding. At least they had a few answers for him, but still, it was unclear why he was what he was. There had never been a case of adapting to the virus, only the virus killing or, in very rare cases, the host fighting it off completely and not becoming infected at all.

"Hey," Maka's raspy, sleepy voice came from the room. He was lead to a small, one floor motel that was built before the walls went up, and that guests used until assigned an actual room. It was two people per room, though, and Soul was given one with Maka. She was laying in one of the the queen sized beds, blonde hair tousled and green eyes squinting as she tried to see him.

"Morning Angel," Soul said, walking over to her. She smiled and laid back down as he leaned over, pushing some of her hair out of her face, "go back to sleep, the sun's not even up yet."

"Mmm, I was trying to wait for you," she sighed, scooting over and patting the bed. Soul sat down, leaning on one elbow as Maka pulled herself into a sitting position. "What did they say? Did you get any answers?"

"They said some of the same things as Stein," Soul said, playing with the comforter, "only, it can be transmitted through blood only."

"How do they know that?" Maka yawned, scratching her cheek, "I mean, how do they test that?"

"They took samples of practically everything," he snorted, "and then tried to infect regular DNA with mine. The only thing that was effected was the blood. Everything else didn't show signs of the virus."

"So, no blood transfusions from you," Maka smirked. Soul nodded, smiling back to her.

"So," Maka cleared her throat, sitting up a little straighter, "if you can't, you know, transmit it through touching, or kissing, or anything then,-"

"Oh, shut up," Soul huffed, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. She let out a muffled protest to his response, but sighed into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. Soul worked his lips against her's gently, cradling her face with his palm. Sharp teeth plus soft lips equals a disaster and he didn't want that happening.

"You know," Maka sighed as Soul moved his lips to her neck, moving to hover over her, "they said we could have a whole day to sleep, or something."

"Really now," Soul said, testing the sharpness of his teeth against her collarbone. She let out a soft moan, hand moving to his hair and pulling tight. "Well, wouldn't it be a shame if we didn't use this day or relaxation to our advantage?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Soul chuckled against her skin and leaned back, hands finding the hem of his shirt as Maka did the same. His scar was still stitched up, but Stein had given him the go to do any, ah, strenuous activities. Not a thread should pull and he shouldn't feel any discomfort, but then again the doctor was talking about running and fighting Kishins, not being able to have sex with his partner.

Maka sighed, reaching out and running her hands over his chest, careful to avoid his scar before leaning forward and kissing him. The bra she wore was plain white with a tear on the left strap, but Soul could feel warm pooling his stomach at the sight of her in it. His fingers skimmed up her ribs, Soul smiling against Maka's lips at the feel of her goosebumps, before he reached her bra strap and fiddled with it.

"Just take it off already," she grumbled when he moved to her neck, fingers still playing with the bra.

"You're impatient," he chuckled.

"I've been waiting for this since Giriko accused you of being my boyfriend," she panted, sighing happily when he finally popped the clasp. She leaned back pulling the bra off and Soul couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of her bare breasts. She flushed, her chest turning a pale pink. "You're not going to go all Kishin and eat me now, are you?"

"I don't know," Soul purred, "I thought girls liked when guys ate them."

He pressed his nose into her neck before moving his lips down the valley of her breasts. His fingers dug into her ass and she hissed, arching her back as Soul took one nipple into his mouth. She whimpered, fingers tangling into his white hair as the man pressed his tongue flat against her raised nipple.

"Soul," she whispered and the man hummed, kissing the underside of her breast before moving to the other one, "Soul, you can use your teeth."

"Oh, I plan on doing so, Angel," she gave her a wicked smirk before attaching his lips to her neck again, pressing his fangs against her throat, nibbling gently before licking away the sharpness.

Soul leaned her back down, kissing his way down her body until he got to her panties, which she was kind enough to sleep in only. He pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss against her wetness and Maka cried out, hips jerking up. He pressed a palm flat against her hip, pushign her down to the bed as the other one hooked onto the hem of her panties, giving a soft tug.

"Jesus, Soul, just do it," Maka whined above him. He laughed and pulled her panties down, getting an eyeful of her damp lips. He pressed his nose against her, her curls smelling of Dove soap and her.

"Did you clean up before I came," Soul said against her, "I can smell it."

"Yes, yes, I did," she sighed, "please, Soul."

Soul took a long swipe over her entrance, making her yell out, hips bucking. He smirked mouth finding her clit before sucking on it gently and pressing his tongue against it roughly. She shook and moaned below him, one hand tight on his head and the other curled in the sheets. Soul held her hip down with one hand, the other palming her ass before sliding over her thigh and caressing the junction. He felt how wet she was and moaned, pressing against her harder as he pressed a single digit to her.

"Yes," Maka sighed, "Soul, yes."

"I like when you say my name, Angel," he moaned, sliding a finger into her, "God, you're so wet."

She moaned above him, back arching off the bed as he fingered her, his breath coming in pants against her wetness. He leaned back, licking her off his lips as he watched her writhe and moan. He added another finger gently, revling in the way her mouth fell into a soft 'O' before she cried out when he rubbed tight circles against her clit with his other hand.

"There you go," he purred, kissing her thigh, "how you doing?"

"Great, I'm, God, Soul!"

"I'm here, I've got you."

Maka panted, hips bucking at Soul picked up speed, curling his fingers inside of her with every thrust. His erection was pressed tightly against his jeans and he wanted so badly to touch himself, for her to touch him, for him to be inside her, but he couldn't stop, not when she looked like this.

"Faster, just a little, yes, like that," Maka moaned, hands gripping the sheets with white knuckles. This was it. Soul quickened, following the movement of her hips as she became frantic, head thrashing and so many different noises coming out of her mouth.

"I'm gonna, Soul, Soul," her walls tightened around his fingers as she came and he gently lead her through her orgasm, kissing her thighs as she trembled. He eased his fingers out of her, making sure she watched as he licked her clean from them.

"Come here," she panted, eyes lidded.

Soul crawled over her, crowding her with his arms. She reached down, fiddling with the bottom of his pants before pushing them down and taking him into her hand. Soul hissed, pressing his forehead against her shoulder. She stroked him, thumb passing over the head of his penis, spreading precum.

"I want you," she moaned, guiding him, "now."

Soul nodded and moved, gripping himself and guiding his way into her. The both let out moans as he entered her, her walls tight but adjusting to him quickly. Maka wrapped her legs around his hips, head thrown back in ecstasy.

"Go, go."

Soul moved, sliding out to the tip before thrusting back, Maka whimpering below him with pleasure, her hands gripping at the headboard above her. Soul panted, his breath wafting over her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine as he fucked her.

They weren't having sex, they were fucking. It was hard and raw, fast and deep. He could feel her tighten with every thrust, her cries getting louder and heavier with need. He could feel his own climax coming. Soul growled against her shoulder, moving and finding her clit with his hand, rubbing her hard. Maka moaned below him, letting go of the head board and pressing her nails into his back. Soul hissed at the scratches she left, but he just pressed his teeth to her neck, licking the small drop of blood his fangs pricked up.

"Soul," she whispered into his ear with every thrust, "Soul, Soul."

"I can feel you," he growled to her, "I can feel you getting close again. Come on, Angel, come for me."

Maka whimpered as she came again, and Soul gave one last hard thrust, groaning as he followed her. They lay there, panting and sweaty for a few moments before Soul pulled out, rolling to the side.

"Well," Maka sighed, looking to him, "I guess we'll find out if any other bodily fluids can cause the virus."

Soul rolled his eyes and simply reached over, cupping her face and giving her a gentle kiss. "Go clean up so we can cuddle and sleep."

"Sure thing, boss," she snorted, giving him a peck before getting up and making her way to the bathroom. Soul watched her, smiling gently to himself. If he had been told a month ago that the snotty little pig-tailed girl he'd picked up off the side of the road found a way into his feelings somewhere, he would have snorted in disbelief. But not, in Las Vegas, awaiting his brothers arrival, there's no other place Soul thinks he could be.

After all, Vegas is the place of dreams.

END PART ONE


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